23 Nov 2022

The significant progress made in sports is attributable to government’s efforts in providing a conducive environment for national athletes to thrive.

Illustrative of this, is their recent success on the international stage in various sporting codes including football and track events, where athletes proved supremacy through their persistence, says Francistown East legislator, Mr Buti Billy.

Mr Billy, who is also the Assistant Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture commended those who took part and competed well over the past year.

He said since his ministry had taken over the Department of Gender Affairs, they would be preoccupied with empowerment of women and children and also ensuring that men played a proactive role in the society.

This, he said, included spearheading the fight against gender-based violence.

Mr Billy noted that his ministry had over the past year offered support to those in the creative industry through art grants and offering them exposure through participation at international conferences.

He cited the Dubai Expo, saying it was a breakthrough for the creatives.

He also said the ministry was looking into broadening the artistic landscape by creating jobs through the value chain in the creative industry.

On issues of his constituency, Mr Billy said it had been a good idea to declare Francistown a mining and transport logistics hub through the Special Economic Zones Agency as it would create jobs and revive the city, but lamented that the process of actually setting up industries was taking long.

Regarding healthcare, Mr Billy said Francistown residents had long complained about congestion at Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital.

He said the city needed a district hospital or for one of its existing clinics to be upgraded to offer services found in hospitals, while health posts should be elevated to clinics.

He added that there was need for solution to shortage of medicines in hospitals since non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension required regular lifesaving treatment.

Mr Billy said the liberalisation of the meat industry was important as it would give more entrepreneurs a chance to participate in the livestock and small stock value chain and also called for the refurbishment of the Francistown abattoir.

He said the high-speed internet availed at clinics, schools, and the kgotla among other public places was a good initiative and suggested provision of benches that would be used by those accessing the internet.

Mr Billy said abortion was a serious issue that needed to be tackled head-on, as many people continued to engage backstreet abortion.

He called for the legalisation of abortion, saying there were many reasons why women ended up with unwanted pregnancies, including being abandoned by their male partners, hence the need to have the right to choose whether to keep the unborn child or not. ENDS